Author: Gary Witcher

Between Life and Death

	"See, I have set before you today life and prosperity," Moses says to the people in Deuteronomy 30:15,16, "and death and adversity; in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it."
	Through Moses, God sets before the Israelites two pathways.  In one direction lie life and prosperity.  In the other direction await death and adversity.  These people literally stand between life and death as they prepare to enter the Promised Land.
	"But if your heart turns away and you will not obey," the passage continues in verses 17-20, "but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong {your} days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.  I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."
	The Israelites stand between the blessing and the curse, between life and death.  Actually, this is not the first time that the Israelites find themselves at this crossroad.  Not long after leaving Egypt four decades earlier, they arrive for the first time at the border of the Promised Land.  They send 12 spies into Canaan, and ten of these return with discouraging reports.
	They stand at the crossroad, between life and death.  Ten spies incite the people to turn back.  Two urge them to stride ahead.
	The New Testament also contains examples of people standing between life and death.
	"And Philip opened his mouth," Acts 8:35-39 records, "and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.  And as they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, 'Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?'  And Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.'  And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing."
	The Ethiopian is reading from Isaiah as he returns home after attending a religious observance in Jerusalem.  But he is not understanding what he is reading.  Sent by the Holy Spirit, Philip joins him and teaches him about Jesus.  Philip obviously instructs him that He must be immersed in water to come in contact with the saving blood of Jesus.  When they pass near a body of water, the Ethiopian stands at a crossroad.  He stands between life and death.
	"Now Saul," we find in Acts 9:1-8, "still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, and asked for letters from him to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.  And it came about that as he journeyed, he was approaching Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; and he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'  And he said, 'Who art Thou, Lord?' And He {said,} 'I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, but rise, and enter the city, and it shall be told you what you must do.'  And the men who traveled with him stood speechless, hearing the voice, but seeing no one.  And Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus."
	Saul is an enterprising young man who is quickly working his way to the top.  All of the sudden, though, he finds himself at the crossroad.  He stands between life and death.
	Years later, Saul finds himself in a prison cell along with his traveling companion Silas.  Suddenly, an earthquake throws off the chains and opens the doors.
	"And when the jailer had been roused out of sleep and had seen the prison doors opened," Acts 16:27-34 records, "he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.  But Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, 'Do yourself no harm, for we are all here!' And he called for lights and rushed in and, trembling with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas, and after he brought them out, he said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?' And they said, 'Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved, you and your household.'  And they spoke the word of the Lord to him together with all who were in his house.  And he took them that {very} hour of the night and washed their wounds, and immediately he was baptized, he and all his {household.}  And he brought them into his house and set food before them, and rejoiced greatly, having believed in God with his whole household."
	The jailer finds himself at a crossroad.  He stands between life and death as he draws his sword to take his own life.  Not long afterward, he again stands at a crossroad between life and death as he learns about Jesus.

	The Israelites find themselves at a crossroad more than once.  The Ethiopian, the jailer and Saul find themselves at crossroads.  All stand between life and death.  What should a person do when standing between life and death?  When we come to the crossroad, the division actually hinges on obeying or rejecting God's Word.  Fortunately, He helps us see the correct direction.
	After the Chaldeans capture Jerusalem, they place an administrator in charge.  But some of the Israelites rebel and kill the administrator.  The assassins are soon defeated by other Israelites, but the group that is left is faced with a decision.  What should they do?  They are afraid that the Chaldeans might punish them.  They stand at a crossroad between life and death.
	"Then all the commanders of the forces," Jeremiah 42:1-3 notes, "Johanan the son of Kareah, Jezaniah the son of Hoshaiah, and all the people both small and great approached and said to Jeremiah the prophet, 'Please let our petition come before you, and pray for us to the Lord your God, {that is} for all this remnant; because we are left {but} a few out of many, as your own eyes {now} see us, that the Lord your God may tell us the way in which we should walk and the thing that we should do.'"
	When we come to the crossroad, we too must ask for the right direction.
	"If you will indeed stay in this land," God responds in verse 10, "then I will build you up and not tear you down, and I will plant you and not uproot you; for I shall relent concerning the calamity that I have inflicted on you."  
	"But if you are going to say, 'We will not stay in this land,' so as not to listen to the voice of the Lord your God," the instruction continues in verses 13-16, "saying, 'No, but we will go to the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war or hear the sound of a trumpet or hunger for bread, and we will stay there'; then in that case listen to the word of the Lord, O remnant of Judah. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, 'If you really set your mind to enter Egypt, and go in to reside there, then it will come about that the sword, which you are afraid of will overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, about which you are anxious, will follow closely after you there {in} Egypt; and you will die there.'"
	When we come to the crossroad, we must ask for the right direction. We must also be willing to listen to the response.
	"You are telling a lie!" the people accuse the prophet in Jeremiah 43:2-4, "The Lord our God has not sent you to say, 'You are not to enter Egypt to reside there'; but Baruch the son of Neriah is inciting you against us to give us over into the hand of the Chaldeans, so they may put us to death or exile us to Babylon.'  So Johanan the son of Kareah and all the commanders of the forces, and all the people, did not obey the voice of the Lord, so as to stay in the land of Judah."
	When we come to the crossroad, we must ask for the right direction. We must listen to the response.  And we must be willing to obey and follow what we are told.
	"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel," verses 10,11 reveal, "'Behold, I am going to send and get Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, My servant, and I am going to set his throne {right} over these stones that I have hidden; and he will spread his canopy over them. He will also come and strike the land of Egypt; those who are {meant} for death {will be given over} to death, and those for captivity to captivity, and those for the sword to the sword.'"
	When we come to the crossroad, we must ask for the right direction.  We must be willing to obey and follow what we are told.  And we must be ready to experience the consequence of our choice.
	"As for the message that you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord," the people reply in Jeremiah 44:16-17, "we are not going to listen to you!  But rather we will certainly carry out every word that has proceeded from our mouths, by burning sacrifices to the queen of heaven and pouring out libations to her, just as we ourselves, our forefathers, our kings and our princes did in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem; for {then} we had plenty of food, and were well off, and saw no misfortune."
	People find themselves at a crossroad, standing between life and death.  The decision rests on obeying or rejecting God's Word.  He is ready to reveal the correct direction.  But we must ask, listen and obey, ready to accept the consequences of our choices.  Sadly, some never learn.
	There is one more thing to notice about this crossroad, the place where people stand between life and death.
	"But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron," we read in Numbers 16:41-48, "saying, 'You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord's people.'  It came about, however, when the congregation had assembled against Moses and Aaron, that they turned toward the tent of meeting, and behold, the cloud covered it and the glory of the Lord appeared.  Then Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,  'Get away from among this congregation, that I may consume them instantly.' Then they fell on their faces.  And Moses said to Aaron, 'Take your censer and put in it fire from the altar, and lay incense {on it;} then bring it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone forth from the Lord, the plague has begun!'  Then Aaron took {it} as Moses had spoken, and ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people. So he put {on} the incense and made atonement for the people.  And he took his stand between the dead and the living, so that the plague was checked."
	God's priests stand at the crossroad.  They must sometimes take a stand between the living and the dead.  But who are God's priests today? 
	"And coming to Him as to a living stone," 1 Peter 2:4,5 instructs, "rejected by men, but choice and precious in the sight of God, you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
	Who are God's priests?  Christians are God's priests, and God expects them to take a stand between life and death.
	"Enter by the narrow gate;" Jesus urges in Matthew 7:13,14, "for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.  For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it."
	Yes, we all stand at the crossroad.  We stand between right and left.  Will we choose the broad road that leads to destruction, or will we follow the pathway of truth and be set free?

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."